Is Mobile One really worth the money. Just wondering what you guys thought!

 

yes, very much so....

check out the many threads on it in the oil and lube forum.

 

The only brand we trust is mobil 1 in this house.

 

Its all I have used in 20 years though for my 502 I may use Red Line.

 

If Mobil 1 can keep my 4HP Briggs and Stratton powerplant running strong in hot, summer NoCal heat, it will work for you! I use either it's 10w30 or 0w30 weights depending on my applications. My motto: "Baseball, Hotdogs, Apple Pie and Mobil 1", that's what I'm talkin' about!

 

Actually.....I use Mobil 1........but Chevrons Synthetic looks like it has better numbers off the shelf. The thought of switching is hanging around.
Although it would appear by the MSDS Chevrons is all groupIII. Therefore its a thought...not an action.

 

Fine oil, but worth the money? That depends. Do you have sub-zero winters where you live? Are you willing to extend drain intervals, or are you stuck in the "every 3000 miles" religion?

Dino (conventional) motor oils have improved so much over the last few years that in real world driving conditions, as proven by used oil analysis, there just isnt much difference anymore. A Group II+ oil like Chevron, Havoline, Motorcraft or Pennzoil performs just as well for the majority of engines at 1/4 the price.

Jim

 

All depends on what is important to you, what safety margins you want, and how much marketing hype you like.

I have used Mobil 1 since 1980(with my new 79 TA) in almost every engine I have owned. Prior to that I used Valvoline Racing oil in my 1800cc Datsun, yeah high performance buddy.

I also have used Valvoline Syn in my 460 and I use Havoline Syn in the wife's van because it is a buck cheaper. I have never met an API/SAE quality oil I didn't like, so I cannot complain about dino or syn. I think most oil failures are bad maintenance and bad luck. It is very rare that a quality oil will fail on you.

Synthetic does give you better high and low temperature protection and they have longer drain intervals. If you drive in moderate climate, mostly long freeway trips at least 30 minutes each way and you don't tow or live in dusty conditions, syn may be overkill, especially if you have the 3,000mile religion. If you drive like most of us, lots of short trips, hot dusty conditions or tow, then syn may have something for you.

Read your owners manual. You will find that most of us fit under Severe duty driving... short trips, stop and go, hot or dusty conditions or towing. The "Normal" conditions are essentially freeway driving for long trips, no stop and go, moderate heat, no towing etc, not many of us are normal. I use syn and change under the "normal" duty intervals. If I used dino I would probably change under "severe" intervals.

The new dino oils are excellent and very close to syn in performance, so you won't go wrong with either type oil.

It really comes down to religious choice. Dino and 3,000mile changes or syn and lazy man 7,500 mile changes. I take the lazy man way and do 7,500 changes but feel that syn gives me the extra margin that my towing requires.

What ever your choice, regular oil and filter changes, using fluids that meet mfg API/SAE specifications are the best advice. As always follow the mfg recommendations especially if under warranty. Dino or syn, what's your religion?

Jim Henderson

 

I use Mobil 1 10W30 in my 97 Explorer V8 engine and Mobil 1 synthetic in the Auto tranny.
I change the filter every 3K without dumping the oil and refill whatever I need to top off, usually about 1/2 quart if that. Oil change every 8K.
I use Royal Purple synthetic engine/tranny/gear oil in my 1984 RX7 going on 236,000 miles.
Synthetic hands down.

 

If you want to spend the money for the synthetic fluids, go for it. You won't be dissapointed. Only time I wouldn't do it is if you are a 3000-and-change type, or if you have an older engine - the synthetics can open up leaks that have long been stopped up. That's the very reason why I'll only go as high as a synthetic blend in my 300...I'll have an odd, occasional discharge of oil (very random, infrequent) so I'd hate to open up pandora's box on some seal.

5 dollars for Mobil 1, 2.40 for Valvoline Durablend, or 1.80 for Valvoline or Castrol. It's whatever you choose. The 1.80 will do you just as well as the 5 dollar in most cases...except for extended drain intervals.

 

I'm no engineer but I've read reports about the benefits of using synthetic oil, not just the reason for extended change intervals. Heck, they use them in drag racing cars, NASCAR, F1 Race cars, jet engines both commercial and military and the list goes on and I'm sure it's not because of the "extended change intervals"
I have 116K miles on my 97 Explorer 5.0 and 236K miles on my RX7 and not a leak anywhere.

 

Saurian, that might have been the case 10 or more years ago with synthetics. However, today's common additive package for a quality synthetic is much more compatible with today's seals and gaskets. If you do have a brittle gasket, worn seal, you will still have a leak depending on how bad it is. However, modern day synthetic oil, like Mobil 1, Royal Purple, Red Line etc. will not cause a leak in an already sound seal or gasket in older vehicles, or high mileage engines. I have read where brand name dino oils, now, are already closer to synthetic blends than you might realize!

 

must be empty then....


I'm just kiddin' there aren't many RX7s with that many miles or leak free.

every truck in my driveway has over 100K, some over 300K, not a single one of them leak. Only the Jeep, and the 68 get the treatment of Mobil one, maybe because they are fuel injected.

With carbureted engines, fuel delivery is imprecise, so your oil becomes diluted rather quickly. I believe synthetic oils don't "absorb" the gasoline as much as dino oils, and since the gasoline is killer to gaskets, thats what is actually causing the leaks...just a thought...

 

i use mobil 1 full for years. with the short trips and hot summer and COLD winter around here i think my explorer and mustang need it. ive been able to go 10k with mobil 1 in the explorer and the oil analysis comes back OK but for another 2k or so miles but then you should change it...

 

I dont see any correlation at all between those applications and a street or off-road driven truck, 95 percent duty cycle vs about 5 percent. Race cars have always been used as a marketing tool for oil companies. As for the jet engines, those synthetic fluids are a completely different chemistry than synthetic motor oil and drain intervals are orders of magnitude beyond gasoline piston engine drain intervals.

Jim